The present invention relates to a reinforcing structure for a body frame of a vehicle.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-180518 discloses a reinforcing structure for body frames of an automobile. In this reinforcing structure, a framework member as a constituent of a vehicle frame is formed by an outer member having a hollow section and a reinforcement inside the outer member. By the integral forming method, the reinforcement is shaped so as to overlap the whole inside of the outer member, thereby reinforcing it effectively and lightly.
However, as the reinforcement is configured so as to follow an uneven inside profile of the outer member, the strength distribution of an integrated element (i.e. the outer member and the reinforcement) is still unchanged in comparison with that of the outer member though its strength is improved by the addition of the reinforcement. Therefore, as to the position of folding deformation, there is no difference between the outer member with the reinforcement and the outer member with no reinforcement. That is, despite the whole area of the outer member being covered with the reinforcement, it merely has effect to reinforce such a deformable part(s) of the outer member, exhibiting an ineffective reinforcing effect.
In such a situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reinforcing structure for a body frame, which allows respective buckling modes of the outer member and also the reinforcement to be established suitably, thereby improving the reinforcing effect with neither increasing a plate thickness of the outer member nor adding any other reinforcing means.
According to the present invention, the above-mentioned object is accomplished by a reinforcing structure for a body frame of a vehicle, comprising:
a hollow outer member arranged on an exterior side of the vehicle;
a reinforcement arranged inside the outer member to extend in the longitudinal direction of the outer member; and
a waveform adjusting mechanism for adjusting respective peaks of waveforms in the buckling mode of the outer member and the reinforcement.